Etoposide and teniposide two synthetic podophyllotoxin derivatives which are important drugs that currently being used in the treatment of small lung cancer, testicular carcinoma, lymphoma, Kaposi's sarcoma. The clinical efficacy and intriguing mechanism of etoposide has greatly stimulated interest in further studies on the modification of the C-4 substution of this compound and for better antitumour activity (Jadine, I. In Anticancer Agents Based on Natural Products Models; Cassady, J. M., Dours, J., Eds.; Academic press: New York, 1980, p 319.; Levy, R. K.; Hall, I. H.; Lee, K. H. J. Pharm. Sci. 1983,72,1158.; Issell, B. F.; Muggia, F. M.; Carter, S. K. Etoposide [VP-16]Current Status and New Developments; Academic Press New York, 1984.; Stio, H.; Yoshikawa, H.; Nishimura, Y.; Kondo, S.; Takeuchi, T.; Umezawa, H. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1986,34,3733. Satio, H.; Nishimura, Y.; Kondo, S.; Komuro, K.; Takeuchi, T.; Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn.1988, 61, 2493). It has been well established that the principal mechanism of the action for etoposide is by the inhibition of catalytic activity of DNA topoisomarase II and concurrent enzyme mediated production of lethal DNA strand breaks. Structure activity relationship studies for the podophyllotoxin-derived compounds have shown the trans C/D ring juncture is a essential for the antitumour activity. A number of studies have been carried out on the structural modification of glycoside moiety by 4-alkylamino or 4-arylamino substituents have improved the inhibitory activity on human DNA topoisomarase II as well as stronger activity in causing cellular protein length DNA breakage (Lee. K. H.: Imakura. Y.: Haruna. M.; Beers, S. A.; Thurston, L. S.; Dai, H. J.; Chen, C. H.; Liu, S. Y.; Cheng, Y. C. J. Nat. Prod. 1989, 52, 606. Liu, S. Y.; Hawang, B. D.; Haruna, M.; Imakura, Y.; Lee, K. H.; Cheng, Y. C. Mol. Pharmcol. 1989, 36, 78. Lee, K, H.; Beers, S. A.; Mori, M.; Wang, Z. Q.; Kuo, Y. H.; Li, L.; Liu, S. Y.; cheng, Y. C.; J. Med. Chem. 1990, 33,1364). In the context a large number of 4β-aryl amino derivatives of 4′-O-demethyl epipodophyllotoxin based compound have been synthesized and investigated for their antitumour activity.